James Franklin explains why he believes in coaching up his guys harder after a win

After escaping with a 45-38 win over a tough Appalachian State squad, in a game that went back and forth and down to the wire, James Franklin’s Penn State squad has rattled off impressive wins over in-state rival Pitt (51-6) and Kent State (63-10) as they get ready to enter conference play against Illinois this weekend before taking on Ohio State next Saturday.

While there haven’t been many losses for the Nittany Lions over the past two seasons (there are just five to be exact), Franklin shared during his presser over the weekend that he feels it’s important to coach his guys up harder after a win, and what a delicate balance it can be for a head coach and his guys.

“You don’t need to lose a game to get a wake up call and figure things out. I think that’s a common misconception that’s out there.”

“In some ways, I’ll be honest with you, I coach them harder after wins because I think that in a lot of ways, emotionally, they’re more prepared for that and how to handle that. After losses, you want to be careful that you don’t beat them up too much so it really becomes how to balance all of those things.

“Now, there’s also a fine line, where after a win, I want it to feel like we’ve won. So we do things to make sure that it doesn’t get o a point where winning is the expectation and losing kills you. I don’t want it to be that either.”

“After wins, I’m going to set a tone in the office with the coaches and the players where we need to be harder in some ways in those situations.”